I have made the decision to CNC it!

that pc should work very well and it was a good deal
mach3 will only run 500 lines of code and at only 25000hz in the demo mode and i think some or all the wizards are disabled.
you have to buy it to get more. but that will get you started and if you break your process into small steps it will work.
steve


Steve, I saw Hoss's vid where he proves the myth that Mach3 will only do 500 lines and only at 25K Hz.. In his vid, he sets it at 40K and it worked..

Doc

Oh I guess that I am going to have to get a 5 volt power supply! Correct?

This is the breakout board you said to get..

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DB25-Male-S...431?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4607987807


The break out board that came with the kit does not say anything about it being restricted to 36 volts and that it does have the 5 volt power supply..

3. Breakout board:
Description:
• Built in DB25 male connector.
• DB25 Output Pin:p1,P2,P3,P4,P5,P6,P7,P8,P9,P14,P16,P17.
• DB25 Input Pin: P10,P11,P12,P13,P15.
• DB25 GND Pin: P18-P25.
• Power supply: +5V DC.
• Built in C-class Optical-coupler.
• High quality with Surface-mount Tech
 
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yes you need a 5v power supply, sorry i forgot to tell you. i used a phone charger. you can also use the 5v from a usb cable pluged into your pc by cutting the end off and locating the power and ground wire. there is no amp draw to speak of on the circuit.
the 5v power ( + ) hooks to step+ dir+ and enable+ on each controller ( enable is not required but can be used ). the 5v ( - ) hooks to the ground ternminal on the breakout board.
the breakout board is not using anything over 5v so the 36v limit does not matter.
steve
 
Ok, I will try to see if I can find one local first before seeing about ordering one..

Oh by the way, I saved the pics of the drawings from the other thread with the fellow that you helped with the X2 mill.
 
each controller has now got 5v ( + ) hooked to step + dir+ and enable+ if using enable
X step - hooks to pin 2 on the breakout board
X dir- to pin 3
Y step- to pin 4
Y dir- to pin 5
Z step- to pin 6
Z dir- to pin 7
all enable- from each controller hook to pin 17 ( if using enable, I dont use the enable )
did you get a uc100?
steve

I have used a usb speaker power cord for 5v before also if you have an old set of pc speakers or anything that powers off of usb.
 
not yet on the UC100, to tell you the truth.. I had forgotten about it.. I have a parallel port on this computer.
 
the breakout board i had u get was to be used with the uc100. it has no opto-couplers to protect the pc from a short without the uc100
steve
 
any questions on the breakout board wiring to the controlers?
after you have connected what i have told you all that is left is the motors and power supply connections to the controlers.
you can wire the limits if being used later, once it is running
steve
 
I guess that I would like to go ahead and get those wires in place.. the more that I can cover now will be less to deal with later. I have to run back to RS to get a PC power input plug.. I have two good PC style power cords, one is very long.. and would like to use that. Also, my on/off switch is the same one that MGP used.. with the lil light in it..

Oh and also, I decided to get some of those connectors like he used between the controller/power supply box and the motors.. I presume that RS will have them.
 
your motors are 3amp so set the controler switches as follows
1 off
2 on
3 off
set the microsteps to 800 to start with
switch
5 on
6 off
7 on
8 on
steve
 
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